North Queensferry

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North Queensferry from the Forth Road Bridge.

North Queensferry is a village in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth, between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, and just 10 miles (16 km) from Edinburgh.

The village takes its name from Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who is said to have established the village to ensure there would be regular ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth for the benefit of pilgrims travelling to St Andrews. Margaret is said to have regularly used the ferry crossing, when travelling between the then capital Dunfermline, and her chapel in Edinburgh Castle: St Margaret's Chapel. From around this time, the crossing became known as the Queen's Ferry.

Margaret died in 1093 and made her final journey by ferry to Dunfermline Abbey, where she remains buried. Her son, David I of Scotland, awarded the ferry rights to the abbey.

However, it is likely that there was a settlement around the present site of the village long before the time of Margaret. The site of the village, on the narrowest part of the Firth of Forth, with added advantage of the island of Inchgarvie in between, suggests that it would have been the natural point of crossing and a vital link to the north of Scotland for centuries before the Queen's Ferry was established.

North Queensferry over the centuries remained a small community, with a population of probably no more than 600, and it never achieved the status of burgh like many of the nearby settlements. Yet the numbers passing through the village daily were huge. From noblemen to commoners, from Kings to cattle, all had to use the Queen's Ferry to cross the Forth. It is recorded that Mary, Queen of Scots used the ferry the day she was being transported to Loch Leven Castle, where she was imprisoned in 1565.

The ferry's importance diminished in importance during the 19th century, with an alternative ferry crossing operating for a while between Burntisland and Granton. By the 1870s there was an increasing call for a bridge to built over the Forth. The idea of a bridge across the Forth had been debated frequently in the past, but the depth of the water and the hard whinstone rock base found underneath had discouraged any attempts. Work on a bridge eventually began in 1883, under the supervision of Benjamin Baker and John Fowler. The construction of the bridge would alter life in North Queensferry drastically. At its peak, the construction of the bridge employed over 4,000 men.

The Forth Rail Bridge was opened on the 4th March 1890, by HRH the Prince of Wales. The ferry crossing continued however, and with the coming of the motor vehicle in the 20th century, its importance was again restored. By 1960, the Queen's Ferry was handling over 2,000,000 passengers a year and over 600,000 motor vehicles. Naturally, this number was ever increasing and it soon became apparent that another bridge would be required.

The last ever commercial ferry crossing of the Queen's Ferry left Hawes Pier, South Queensferry on the evening of 3rd September 1964, and docked at North Queensferry shortly after. The very next day, HRH The Queen opened the new Forth Road Bridge, and 800 years continual use of the Queen's Ferry were finally brought to a close.

The Town Pier, the main Ferry terminus for many years,was designed by John Rennie and was built between 1810-13. It was later extended by Thomas Telford.

One of North Queensferry's biggest attractions today, other than the stunning views it offers of the Forth Bridges, is Deep Sea World, one of the largest and most popular public aquariums in the UK which was opened in 1993.It boasts impressive displays of local and exotic sealife.

North Queensferry is currently home to the acclaimed novelist Iain M. Banks. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also has a residence in the village.

It is part of the Dunfermline and West Fife Westminster constituency.